Pickens was not mentioned in the report in connection with any of the improprieties.

He issued a statement Tuesday calling Sports Illustrated's reporting "disappointing." Pickens had said in the past that if he learned of "any cheating, I am through."

Pickens' complete statement, which USA TODAY Sports obtained:

There's one word I have for the Sports Illustrated reporting on Oklahoma State University: Disappointing.

This series is not reflective of Oklahoma State University today. Many of their sensational allegations go back a decade ago.

There have been wholesale changes at the school in recent years in leadership and facilities. During that time, I have given more than $500 million to OSU, for athletics and academics. Have I gotten my money's worth? You bet. We have a football program that has a commitment to principled sportsmanship. They understand the expectations we, as fans and supporters, have for the program. We have an incredible and growing fan base, and a loyal group of alums that believe in the character of our players, coaches and administrators.

But I do welcome this scrutiny. If people take the time, it's an opportunity to better understand where Oklahoma State is today, not a decade ago. It's a different university today. It's a better university. If there are areas where we need to improve, we'll do it.

Which leads me back to my disappointment with Sports Illustrated, and their failure to ask the most important question of all: What's happening at OSU today?

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, another prominent alumnus of the school, said Tuesday that she found the allegations "disturbing and disappointing" and that she is confident the school's administration will investigate the charges thoroughly.

The SI segment released Tuesday includes allegations of wrongdoing during the tenure of Les Miles as Oklahoma State head coach from 2001-04.

Former LSU athletics director Skip Bertman, who hired Miles from Oklahoma State after coach Nick Saban left LSU after the 2004 season, was shocked by the story.

"It stunned me," Bertman said Tuesday afternoon. "We checked Les with every background check there is off the field as well as with the NCAA and with the Oklahoma State athletic department. You can find out if a coach was ever just looked at for even a secondary violation, and he had a clean slate. I worked with Les for five years, and the guy is very, very anti anything close to a recruiting violation or drugs or cheating. He's always been a good recruiter."

The story also said that Larry Porter, whom Miles brought to LSU in 2005 from Oklahoma State as running backs coach, "made straight payments to players" while Oklahoma State's running backs coach under Miles from 2002-04. Former OSU running back Seymour Shaw told SI that Porter gave him $100 "four or five times."

Porter was a chief recruiter for Miles at LSU from 2005-09 before becoming Memphis' head coach. He is now running backs coach at Texas.

"None of that ever happened," Porter told SI in a statement.

Texas men's athletics director DeLoss Dodds said Porter was questioned and "we do not have any issues with him at this time."

Porter was part of Miles' staff in 2009 that signed defensive tackle Akiem Hicks from Sacramento City Community College in California. In 2010, the NCAA penalized LSU for a major violation concerning the recruitment and housing of Hicks, who transferred from LSU before playing and is now a member of the New Orleans Saints.

"Les always worked very well and very closely with our NCAA compliance department," Bertman said. "I'm confident that when Les was coach at Oklahoma State that if Oklahoma State did anything against the rules, it was without his knowledge."

Miles had no comment Tuesday about the SI story, nor did current LSU athletics director Joe Alleva.

"We haven't seen the whole series yet, and we're not going to comment on anything until we see the series in its entirety," LSU associate athletics director for sports information Michael Bonnette said Tuesday.

LSU Board of Supervisors member Raymond Lasseigne of Bossier, La., had not read the first installment as of Tuesday afternoon.

"I wish I knew more, but I don't," Lasseigne said. "I've heard that he (Miles) was there when some possible violations occurred, but he denied any knowledge of them. The significance of this will depend on the seriousness of the infractions, how much he was involved and if they are proven. We'll have to see how it plays out."

Joe DeForest ran special teams and the secondary under Miles and then was an associate head coach under Mike Gundy, the current Oklahoma State head coach, from 2005-11. DeForest is mentioned prominently in the report in connection with many of the alleged payments. He is now on the staff at West Virginia under head coach Dana Holgorsen.

"While our assistant football coach has denied the allegations, it is the right thing to do to look into the matter and review practices here," WVU athletics director Oliver Luck said.